In the art of blending and/or mixing metered volumes of different liquids, it is often necessary to move or transport liquids from storage vessels, such as liquid supply tanks, through delivery lines such as hoses and/or pipes, from those tanks to remote means and devices that work to meter the flow rate and/or volume of the liquids handled and that thereafter mix those fluids. Further, it is not infrequent that the liquids worked upon are driven or caused to flow from the supply tanks through the delivery lines, to their metering and/or mixing devices, by means of pumps engaged between the tanks and the lines. In other instances, the liquids are moved or driven by the introduction of motive gases, such as CO.sub.2, into the supply tanks; which gases displace the liquids in the tanks and drive them downstream therefrom through the lines, as required.
The liquid metering and/or mixing devices that work to meter the driven liquids typically include metering means comprised of flow metering orifice devices and/or adjustable flow metering valves that work to meter the volume of liquid flowing downstream therethrough and on and off valves downstream of the metering means that operating to stop and start the flow of liquid, as desired or as circumstances require.
Typical of the kinds of liquid handling systems and/or machines that work to intermittently caused metered volumes of liquids to flow and to mix together and in which at least one liquid is pumped or gas-driven are carbonated and noncarbonated beverage making and dispensing systems and machines such as are utilized in restaurants and the like to make and dispense beverages. In such systems and machines metered volumes of water and beverage concentrate syrup are intermittently caused to flow and mix together to make desired beverages. The syrups are stored in supply tanks and are pumped and delivered downstream thereof by pumps or, the tanks are charged with gas (CO.sub.2) at desired pressure to drive the syrup out of and downstream therefrom. The syrups are driven downstream from the tanks through elongate syrup delivery lines to mixing head assemblies that typically include metering means, valves and the like. The water in such systems and machines is received from pressurized water service systems and is delivered to the mixing head assemblies by means of elongate delivery lines.
In the case of carbonated beverage dispensing systems, the water is suitably carbonated by carbonating units engaged between the water service systems and the mixing head assemblies.
The mixing head assemblies are typically housed within and carried by vertically standing towers that are mounted atop service counters and include on and off valves that are manually controlled to start and stop the flow of liquids and the making of beverages, as desired.
In the case of noncarbonated beverage making and dispensing machines, the machines typically include beverage supply tanks that are suitably supported or mounted atop service counters and from which beverages can be dispensed by means of manually operable dispensing valves on the tanks. Such machines typically include mixing head assemblies at the tops of the beverage tanks to which water and syrup are delivered by means of elongate water and syrup supply lines and that operate to deliver metered volumes of water and syrup into the beverage tanks to make and maintain desired supplies of beverage therein.
The syrup supply tanks used in the above-noted beverage making and dispensing systems and machines are normally positioned in suitable obscure storage places that are remote from the mixing head assemblies and which therefore require that the syrup delivery lines be quite long. The storage places for syrup tanks are often refrigeration rooms located remote from the counters where the machines or towers stand. As a result of the foregoing, the provision and use of syrup delivery lines that are in excess of 100 feet in length are sometimes required.
For effective and efficient use of the above-noted beverage making and dispensing systems and machines and for such use of other equipment of a similar nature, it is necessary that the liquid delivery lines be fully charged or primed with liquids before the systems can be operated to deliver the desired metered volumes of liquids. If the lines are not so primed and the systems are put into operation, they will operate to deliver disproportionate volumes of liquids and produce improperly constituted products until the systems have operated long enough to become properly primed. The foregoing can and often does result in the production of bad or inferior product which is difficult and/or troublesome to deal with and that can and often does result in serious economic losses.
In addition to the foregoing, in equipment or systems where liquids are driven downstream from liquid supply tanks through elongate delivery lines by means of motive gas introduced into the supply tanks, when the supplies of liquids in the tanks are exhausted, the gases continue to flow into and thence downstream from the tanks, into and through the delivery lines to clear those lines of the liquids. This results in the loss of prime and the production of bad product.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, prior to my invention, the prior art has provided no means to effect the filling of the liquid delivery lines and to prime equipment or systems of the character referred to above other than to operate the systems for sufficient periods of time to enable the systems to prime themselves and to endure the losses and inconveniences that are exacted by the production and handling of bad products as the result thereof.